Steel makers are increasingly turning to direct reduction of iron as a raw material source for steelmaking furnaces. Suitable processes for the direct reduction of iron are several. U.S. Pat. No. 3,128,174 teaches a batch-wise process. U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,916 discloses a rotary kiln process. U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,120 teaches a shaft furnace direct reduction process in which a reducing gas is catalytically reformed from a mixture of a gaseous hydrocarbon and spent reducing gas from the reduction process. The spent reduction gas is cleaned and cooled upon exiting the reduction furnace prior to being introduced to a catalyst-containing reformer furnace. When the spent top-gas is recycled through the reformer and reintroduced to the reduction furnace as a reducing gas, sulfur is picked up from the furnace burden by the reducing gas and carried through the system to the reformer where it contaminates the catalyst.
This invention is a simplified method for reducing or preventing sulfur contamination of the catalyst by a simple treatment to the scrubber cooling water.